H.P. Lovecraft considered “The Colour out of Space” one of his best stories. In this narrative from 1927, Lovecraft blends horror and science fiction to create a dread terror of the unknown. A meteorite falls on a farm in central Massachusetts and causes devastation in the form of a mysterious, gradual toxicity of the land, vegetation, and people, often described as a strange colour. The location of the fallen meteorite is also the future site of a reservoir that will eventually be a major water supply for a large city.

This contemporary fine press edition of the story includes an introduction by Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi and 14 color images by Amy Borezo. The artist lives near the supposed site of this fictional tale and frequently walks the old roads of the towns now underneath the Quabbin Reservoir. In creating the imagery for this work, the artist was interested in the inherent romanticism of this familiar landscape as well as Lovecraft’s own professed dislike of progress and modern industrialization. The toxicity from the meteorite at the site of the reservoir could be seen as a metaphor for the effects of modernity itself. The images reflect these ideas in abstract form.

The text for this edition was provided by S.T. Joshi from his recent publication, H. P. LOVECRAFT: COLLECTED FICTION: A VARIORUM EDITION [Hippocampus Press, 2015] and is derived from a typescript at Brown University, evidently prepared by F. Lee Baldwin for a proposed reprint of the story (c. 1934) that never happened. It has some revisions in pen by Lovecraft, so presumably it represents his final wishes for the story._____________________

Relief printing on Zerkall Book paper from photopolymer plates on a letterpress. Body text set in Caslon, titles in Futura. Pages sewn onto a shaped concertina. Paste paper over boards with a buffalo suede spine. Housed in a presentation box. Special thanks to Lisa Hersey who assisted in printing and binding.